


When are you coming back?

by Naruthirnith



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: After Joaquin leaves, Angst, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Titles, M/M, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-11-03 19:30:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10973874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naruthirnith/pseuds/Naruthirnith
Summary: After Joaquin has left Kevin keeps seeing Jason Blossom's murder over and over again in his mind. He misses Joaquin and doesn't know what to do, he ends up texting Joaquin.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So this pair made me so sad! I wrote this at some unsocial hour after I rewatched episode 12 (Why would you do that to yourself Naruthirnith?!) but I've edited it so hopefully it's okay! Let me know what you think!

The image of Jason Blossom’s murder replayed in Kevin’s mind like it was a video stuck on loop. He wanted nothing more than to call Joaquin and ask him to go around to talk about it. He wanted them to be safe…together and safe but Joaquin wasn’t there, he was in San Junipero and Kevin was in Riverdale. Alone. Betty had Jughead. Veronica had Archie. But he was alone. He picked up his phone, he opened photos up and scrolled through, thinking about it he had taken many, perhaps too many photos of him and Joaquin. He was glad about this though, it meant he had plenty of photos to look through, it hurt, it was still raw. Joaquin was gone and he might never come back. Kevin pushed this from his mind, Joaquin might come back, Kevin decided this was a better thought, Joaquin might come back when all this is sorted, when FP is out of jail and the Serpents are just the local biker gang from the wrong side of the tracks again, then Joaquin might come back. If not, Kevin would go to San Junipero. He was sorry for calling Joaquin a criminal, for telling him he was talking to him as the Sheriff’s son. He thought about texting this to Joaquin, but decided against it, Joaquin would still be travelling and might not have a signal, no reply would just panic Kevin. After all, Mustang was dead and he knew what had happened, Kevin would only worry that no reply meant something had happened to Joaquin. Kevin jumped as he heard the front door open and slam shut.

“Dad?” He shouted, well done Kevin, if it was an intruder you just alerted them to your presence!

“Kevin!”

“What?” He sat up.

“Clifford Blossom’s hung himself. You and your friends need to leave this alone before one of you gets hurt!” His dad said standing in the door frame of Kevin’s room. This was bad, it meant that Cheryl’s dad wasn’t here to explain why he killed his son, why he did any of this…what if that meant Joaquin wouldn’t be able to come back.

“Oh my god, d-do you know why?”

“Not yet.”

“Does that mean that Jughead’s dad will be released?”

“No Kev, he’s done plenty of other bad things, he could still be away for a very long time, 20 years at least.”

“Oh.”

“Well you best get some sleep Kevin, school tomorrow.”

He left, Kevin was left alone once more. He flopped back down. His pillows smelt like Joaquin’s cheap shampoo and hair product. He couldn’t resist it any longer, he leaned over and grabbed his phone. He opened up messages. He started typing,

 

_**When are you coming back? K x** _

 

He knew it wasn’t fair to ask Joaquin when he was coming back to Riverdale, he might never but he sent it anyway.

 

_**Read 22:09pm** _

 

Joaquin was typing, the typing stopped…then started again, then a message appeared,

 

_**Preppy, I don’t know, I don’t know if I am. Why don’t you come to San Junipero? J x** _

 

Kevin sighed, he typed a reply,

 

_**My dad doesn’t think FP will be out any time soon… K x** _

 

Kevin didn’t know what else to say, but he felt like he had to tell Joaquin.

 

_**Read 22:14** _

 

Typing.

 

_**He’s done a lot of stuff Preppy, he might be away for a while… I don’t think I can come back till he’s out and even then, I don’t know… I’m sorry Kev… J x** _

 

Kevin knew it had been a bad idea to text Joaquin now he was scared Joaquin would never come back to him.

 

_**I miss you. You’ve been gone, six hours but I already miss you. K x** _

 

He doesn’t need to wait long for a reply.

 

_**Read 22: 17** _

 

_**I miss you too Preppy, didn’t I say as I got on the bus that I was gonna miss you? J x** _

 

Kevin forced back a sob, he’d held it together all day, there had been more important things to worry about earlier but alone in the dark with only text messaging, it hit Kevin that there was a chance…a chance he’d never see Joaquin again. The tears started.

 

_I **hope you come back because if you don’t I’ll be in San Junipero the day after I graduate! K x**_

 

_**Read 22:23** _

 

 _**And I don’t doubt it! J x** _  
_**Kev I’m going to have to go, my battery’s low and I don’t want it to die while I’m on the bus! I’ll call you tomorrow… J x** _

 

Kevin swallowed down another sob, he texted a reply,

 

_**Okay, you better! I told you, you needed one of those cases that charge the phone! K x** _

 

He put his phone back down on his bedside cabinet and watched the light fade. Who knows what tomorrow in Riverdale will be like… He shut his eyes and thought of Joaquin. Tears still rolling down his face. He would see Joaquin again no matter what happened.


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joaquin and Kevin's phone call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!! I'm so terribly sorry this has taken so long! I've had simply dreadful wifi problems last week and this week! Hopefully, it's sorted now though! 
> 
> This is the phone call! It's from Joaquin's point of view! Hope you enjoy it!

It was not a case of only missing Kevin. Had he known that the separation would cause so much pain he would never have gotten involved with the Sheriff’s son. He knew he shouldn’t have let FP find out, that way he’d never have had to agree to spying on Kevin and his friends. It broke his heart a little knowing that some of the time he’d only met Kevin because FP needed information. Kevin had deserved a better first real relationship. He’d called Joaquin his boyfriend, he’d taken him to Homecoming…but what had Joaquin done? He’d taken Kevin and his friends to the Whyte Wyrm, he’d put them in danger. Joaquin knew full well what Kevin would say to that he’d tell Joaquin he was being silly and that it would have been too dangerous for Kevin on the South Side. Now sitting in his hotel room Joaquin didn’t know what to do… Normally at this time on the South Side he’d be riding his bike with some of the other Serpents but here all he can do is stare out of the window at one of the back streets of sunny San Junipero and wonder. Kevin would be finishing school soon, he’d call him then and talk to him about anything, just to hear his voice, just to know that Kevin was still there, he was real, Riverdale was real and perhaps one day he’d be able to go home or Kevin would come here. Perhaps this was all a little childish, how many people that are together in the teen years are really together for life? But maybe that wasn’t important, he just felt like something between him and Kevin wasn’t finished. Maybe he would return to Riverdale one day…if FP got out of prison early perhaps he could return then… Joaquin glanced at the old clock on the wall Kevin would finish school in half an hour…

 

The clock looked like it had been pulled out of the 1970s…if he was being honest the whole room looked like it was from the 1970s. It was the best he could afford though, if he had sold his bike perhaps he would’ve been able to get a better room. But he didn’t, that bike was almost like a promise to Kevin that he would return to him sooner or later, Joaquin just hoped it was before Kevin moved on and his bike rusted. Joaquin laughed to himself, it wasn’t a happy laugh, rather a sombre laugh, it would be symbolic wouldn’t it, if he returned to Riverdale to find Kevin with ‘Moose’ or someone else and his bike had rusted just like his and Kevin’s chances of being happy. Joaquin pushed this from his thoughts, he had enough to worry about not hypothetical endings to him and Kevin’s relationship…could he call it a relationship… Joaquin groaned, he knew he should have payed extra for wifi in his room that way he’d at least have something to do instead of wallow in his own quickly spiralling to worst case scenario thoughts… Worst case scenario…was Moose really worst case scenario? It wasn’t, Joaquin knew it… Worst case scenario was something happened to Kevin… Kevin and his friends… He should never have agreed to take them to the Whyte Wyrm… the Serpents knew their faces now… No! They’re friends with Jughead, Jughead is FP’s son, the Serpents aren’t going to attack the friends of their leader’s son… Unless FP gave names… Joaquin shook his head, that wasn’t going to happen… He stood up, went to the window, there was some sort of fight going on, it sounded like some hotel patron was refusing to pay the full bill because of some reason or another. Joaquin paced back to the single tattered armchair, it was made out of that easy clean material they use in hospitals and doctor’s surgeries… Joaquin didn’t want to think about why the chair was upholstered in this material! He pulled out his phone and checked the time on there, Kevin should be driving home now, not long till he could ring… He decided to text first, make sure it was convenient, this had become a regular feature of their phone calls, Joaquin would text first to make sure that the Sheriff wasn’t about. He waited till he thought Kevin would be home so as not to text while Kev was driving and texted,

 

_**Hey Pr** **eppy! Is it safe for me to call you? I’m slowly spiralling into worse thoughts and could do with hearing your voice to settle my thoughts! Jx** _

 

Five minutes felt like five hours while he waited for a reply. Finally, he saw the message had been read and that a reply was being written.

 

_**Yes of course! Joaquin, I’m the same! I miss you! I’m now sat waiting for you to call! Kx** _

 

Joaquin smiled, he went to contacts and found the contact ‘Kevin Keller’, he remembered the night at the drive in when he had been given this number. He only heard the dial tone for about 3 rings before he heard his Preppy’s voice.

“Joaquin!”

“Hey Preppy” Joaquin smiled at the sound of Kevin’s voice, his chest felt warm with a feeling he couldn’t place.

“I’ve missed you so much, you know that don’t you! It’s been 24 hours since you left! That’s 24 hours!"

“I know… Kev, are we alright… you know after everything… I mean you called me a criminal, you were mad at me…” Joaquin’s voice was shakey, the thought of Kevin being angry at him devastated him.

“Joaquin… if it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t know who killed Jason… I’m sorry that I called you a criminal, I mean I knew you were a criminal from the start, you are in a biker gang after all I mean what did I think you all did, sit watching the latest Netflix series?” Kevin was rambling, he had missed Preppy’s ramblings more than he’d realised.

“Actually, there were on occasion times where some of us would watch the latest series…”

“Really?” He could hear Preppy’s facial expression in his voice.

“Yeah…it was a…ermmm…surreal experience put it that way!” Kevin laughed.

“I bet! Listen Joaquin, things have just been getting weirder here… Clifford Blossom killed Jason and then himself last night and was found with barrels of drugs where the maple syrup should have been.”

“What?”

“Yeah, I know… My dad says FP might be away for up to 25 years… you’ll be back before then right? If not I’ll be on the bus to San Junipero don’t think I wasn’t being serious when I said I’d be there the day after my graduation…”

“Kev… Why don’t you come see me? You know over the next lot of holidays? I really do miss you Preppy…”

“That’s a good idea! I’ll be there! I’ll have to think of something to tell my dad…he’s a police officer you know!” Kevin laughed, it was good to hear Kevin laughing.

“Hmmm you could tell him that you have a project that involves a trip to San Junipero?” Joaquin suggested, he wasn’t being serious but Kevin seemed to have decided that this idea worked.

“If I can get Betty and Veronica to play along…he might fall for that…so long as he doesn’t speak to Principal Weatherby…” Joaquin laughed this time.

“I’m sure we’ll think of an even more fool proof plan! I’m a hardened criminal after all!” They both laughed this time! Joaquin heard a voice shouting Kevin.

“Damn, my dad’s calling! I’ll text you later… Can I call you tomorrow?”

“Of course, you can call me whenever you need to Preppy!”

“You can do the same…so long as I’m not in class any way!”

“I’ll remember that don’t worry Preppy! Speak to you soon!”

“Bye Joaquin!”

“Bye Preppy!”

 

And that was it, the phone call was over… Joaquin sighed at least he was going to speak to Preppy tomorrow…that made him feel better. And Kevin had agreed to come and see him, maybe things weren’t so bad! Maybe he’d go see about getting wifi now...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's chapter 2 folks! I will continue this probably for a couple more chapters!


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's been such a long time! I saw the trailer for season 2 yesterday and realised I hadn't finished this! So here is chapter 3! Enjoy!

So much had happened in the last few days that Kevin didn’t know what had hit him. Clifford Blossom had killed his son and then himself; Cheryl had tried to drown herself; Jughead had gone to South Side High. Was anything normal anymore? Not to mention FP Jones was still in under arrest, but then that wasn’t surprising. Kevin knew he should just leave it, he shouldn’t get involved but the murder of Jason Blossom had affected him in more ways than he’d expected, he had never expected to fall for a South Side Serpent yet he had and that South Side Serpent had left because he’d been caught up in something bigger than him. Something bigger than all of them. It wasn’t fair. Kevin sat on his bed and sighed. Joaquin was gone and with every day that passed it seemed less likely he would come home. It had been a couple of days since they’d spoken last. Too much had happened in the last two days, they’d texted a couple of times but that was it. It didn’t help that when they messaged one another it was always about what had happened in Riverdale, Joaquin didn’t speak much about San Junipero. Kevin figured things must be okay there otherwise Joaquin would’ve mentioned it. Kevin glanced at his phone, shook his head and told himself he had to get some sleep. Temptation got the better of him, he opened his message thread with Joaquin.

_**Hey, how are things going in San Junipero? Things are crazy here… Kx** _

After a few minutes a reply was being typed, Kevin stared at the screen.

_**I payed for wifi! I finally got caught up on my ever-growing Netflix list… I’ve only left the hotel a couple of times, it’s a lot hotter here! Jx** _

Kevin got the sense that things must be a bit boring to say the least.

_**Honestly, sounds better than things here… Kx** _

A reply arrived very quickly.

_**Is everything alright Preppy? I miss you, you know that, right? Jx** _

Kevin couldn’t help but smile sadly, he missed Joaquin, he missed his, quiet, intelligent and thoughtful boyfriend.

_**I know and I miss you too… It’s fine it’s just everything seems to be spiralling out of control... Kx** _

Kevin heard his dad’s cellphone ring, he strained to hear what his dad said, something about Pop Tate and the Chock’lit Shoppe. He heard his dad stomping around, Kevin sighed, what had happened now?

_**I’m sorry I had to leave Preppy, I really hope I can come home but honestly, the more all this keeps going on I just don’t know! But, remember you’re coming to see me! You can tell me all about what’s happened then, I promise… Jx** _

Kevin’s heart ached, so Joaquin felt the same as he did, all the chaos going on meant that it was becoming less and less likely that he could come home anytime soon. He could feel tears stinging in his eyes. He could hear his dad on the landing, he blinked rapidly trying to stop the tears before they fell.

“Kevin?” He knocked on the door.

“Yeah?” Kevin asked hoping his voice didn’t betray the fact he was close to tears. His dad walked in. He looked very panicked.

“There’s been an armed robbery at Pop Tate’s, a shot was fired. I can’t say anything else, I have to go, make sure the doors are locked!” He said hurriedly.

“Will do, stay safe dad.” Kevin said carefully as his dad ran down the stairs.

_**I can’t wait to come see you! Something bad has happened at Pop Tate’s… Kx** _

Kevin looked out of his window, the street was so quiet, so Riverdale. Kevin missed the old days before Clifford Blossom had murdered Jason, back when things were peaceful and nothing ever happened. A tear finally escaped, but if it was still old Riverdale would he have ever met Joaquin? He was sure they’d have met somehow, the Drive-In would still have closed, they would have met then surely. His thoughts were interrupted by a louder than anticipated ‘ting’, Kevin jumped, Joaquin had replied quickly no doubt remembering Kevin and his friends hang out at the Chock’lit Shoppe.

_**What? That’s terrible! Is everyone okay? Jx** _

Kevin got to his feet and walked to his closet he pulled out one of Joaquin’s jackets that he’d left one night after Kevin’s dad got home early and he’d had to make quick dash out of the window. He’d had to jump half way down the tree near Kevin’s window because the Sheriff had gone to speak to Kevin. Kevin smiled at the memory, he picked his phone up and replied.

_**I don’t know, my dad didn’t go into much detail so we can assume it isn’t good. Listen Joaquin I’m gonna try get some sleep. You should probably do the same, too many Netflix binges aren’t good for you! Kx** _

Kevin felt guilty for ending the conversation but he really was tired, he felt like he could sleep for the first time in a few days.

_**OK Preppy, and yeah, you’re right! I’m going to head into town tomorrow and find a book shop! Let me know what happened at Pop Tate’s! And be careful, I miss you… Jx** _

_**I will… I miss you too Joaquin Kx** _

Kevin locked his phone, ran downstairs and checked the doors were locked. When he got back to his room he shut the door and collapsed onto his bed, laying his head on Joaquin’s jacket. Ah how he missed the smell of that cheap shampoo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again I'm sorry it took so long! I watched the comic con panel and it doesn't sound like Joaquin is going to come back, which is so sad. I'm really annoyed they don't seem to be going to give these two the story they deserve!

**Author's Note:**

> I am planning to write more but it depends on what you guys think! :D


End file.
